DIY Day Off! Homemade Ricotta and Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Today I took off of work and decided to carpe the diem and make some homemade basics for the kitchen. Both were incredibly easy! Here are the recipes:

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes


Roughly 1 lb. cherry tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
Olive oil
Salt
Oregano and other dried herbs
One clove of garlic

1. Preheat you oven to its lowest setting. Some ovens only go as low as 200 degrees F, but mine goes to 170.

2. Place the halved tomatoes face up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

3. Bake in the oven for about three to four hours. I baked mine for about three and a half.

4. When you remove them from the oven, taste one! They're delish.

5. Place into a jar.

6. Pour some olive oil into a bowl and add your herbs (however much you like, honestly) and a grated clove of garlic to it.

7. Pour the mixture over your tomatoes and close the jar. You're done!

Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta Cheese 

recipe adapted from Evan's Kitchen Ramblings

3 cups milk

1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Juice of one lemon

1. Combine milk, cream and salt into a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

2. Line a colander with cheesecloth or a coffee filter or paper towels and place over a large bowl.

3. Once the milk combo comes to a boil, add the lemon juice and turn the heat to low. Simmer for two more minutes.

4. Off heat and let stand for five minutes.

5. Pour into lined colander and allow the whey to strain out for an hour.

6. Refrigerate! Though apparently it freezes well.

Nom away.

Dreaming about this salad.

Last night I set out to make this salad for lunch today. It was so good, I had to have some then and there! It was really hard to not eat the whole thing. A few things I had to change. I didn't want to use a second lemon, so I just used the juice of one and got away with it. I didn't have pesto, so I grated a half a clove of garlic in it. If you're not a big fan of garlic or onion breath, I recommend using one or the other. Because IDGAF, I used both.

Tangy Tuna and White Bean Salad

3 tablespoons lemon juice (I used a little less-- about one lemon's worth.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
1 7-ounce can of tuna, drained
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons pesto (I didn't have pesto, so I grated a half clove of garlic.)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons sundried tomato, diced

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.

Add the drained beans, tuna, onion, parsley and sundried tomatoes and toss gently to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours to blend the flavors. Serve.

Enjoy like I did!

Can we stop pretending?

I moved recently, so this isn't as timely as I wanted it to be.

If you're a socially aware person, you know that Chris Brown performed at the Grammy Awards. If you're a celebrity gossip lover, like myself, you know that three years ago Brown had to cancel his performance as well as his then-girlfriend's, Queen Rihanna, because he beat the shit out of her in the car on the way over. So he performed, twice, and people cheered and gave him standing ovations and everyone was so happy to finally have a golden talent in their midst again. And I am furious. Thank you, Chris Brown, for inspiring me to make this list of verbally and physically violent people who I am sick of seeing people fawn over. I don't know about you, but I hold a grudge and never forget that someone did shit. You shouldn't either. (Check out this stunning piece on HelloGiggles for more insight into why.)

So here is my list of horrible men praised in Hollywood. Enjoy.

Valentine's Day Dinner

I decided to cook a nice meal for my boyfriend this Valentine's Day and settled on a Giada recipe for Brown Butter Risotto with Lobster. Here are some more recipes I was dying to make!

Devils on Horseback: Bacon-wrapped dates filled with goat cheese

Steak With Pesto Gnocchi

Maple Juniper Venison Loin with Chocolate Infused Red Wine Jus, Leek and Potato Mash

Baked Scallops with Cheese and Wine Sauce

Actors I could do without

This is inspired by a commercial for George Clooney on Inside the Actor's Studio. For a while now, some of Hollywood's most beloved actors have been falling off in many ways. Some are picking terrible movies. Some have personalities that just aren't cute anymore. Some, to me, have always been mediocre,  annoying, or overrated. Let's just dive right in here:

George Clooney

"Hi, I'm George Clooney and I actually think I should be here. With the President of the United States. In a serious group conversation. He totally gives a fuck what I think."

First, I would like to thank Clooney for inspiring this post. I must admit, it took me a little longer than usual to choose a picture of him to use because he is actually quite beautiful. Too bad when I get past his gorgeousness (which, god damn it, gets better with age like a Roth IRA) all I can see is a smug bastard. Michael Clayton is a phenomenal movie, but now he's pretty much just playing George Clooney. Aloof, clever, charming. That's his schtick. Whether he's down-and-out or totally successful, it's the same character. I pretty much tolerated him until I saw the video below. It reminded me of the scene in Fantastic Mr. Fox-- another great film of his-- where he hijacks a toast being given by Bill Murray's Clive Beaver.




Like, Viola Davis is making a great point about why black women her age don't get many roles. Fassy seems genuinely interested, but oh no, Clooney hasn't spoken in ten seconds so he's itching. Hey Clooney, no one gives a fuck about your experience on E.R. when we're talking about black actresses and the way they're cast (or, in this case, not cast) in films. People have pretty much forgotten you were on E.R. since you don't have that stupid fucking Caesar haircut anymore. Moving on.

Tom Hanks

"Casting me in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Pretentious was actually a good fit for me, thanks!"

Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks. This makes me sad. When did it all go so 'meh?' Maybe it was The Ladykillers. Anyway, I find him ostentatious and the movies he's been in lately just seem like fillers. The Da Vinci Code, Larry Crowne; I didn't even bother to see Angels and Demons because I mean, really. You know it's bad when I prefer Colin Hanks to Tom. Maybe Colin could do a remake of Turner and Hootch or Big. Those are remakes I could get behind.

Julia Roberts

"It's really important for me to open my mouth this wide, otherwise people won't know I'm laughing."

Speaking of Larry Crowne, I have to mention Julia Roberts. She hasn't been in much lately, it seems, which is kind of great for me. There's just something about her that I can't stomach. Maybe it's because she's a Scorpio and they're the worst. Even if her character in a movie is supposed to be likable and empowering or something, like in Mona Lisa Smile, I just end up hating them. It's irrational, I know. But then again, maybe it's just Julia Roberts.

Leonardo DiCaprio

"Got a biopic for me?"

He was amazing in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Actually, he's pretty amazing in everything, acting-wise. I think it's just that he's in everything. When I found out he was going to play Jay Gatsby, I was a little upset. Next he's going to be in the new Tarantino movie, Django Unchained (which, by the way, Idris Elba should be starring in instead of Jaime Foxx, but whatever) and he's going to play one of my favorite singers ever, Frank Sinatra! I'm like, get out of my face, DiCaprio!! We won't mention his serial model dating, which really can't be caused by any good feelings about women. I'm pretty sure that'll end up backfiring on him.

Anyway, let me stop hating. I can't hate on the big bills they get while simultaneously giving up, so more power to them.

Verrier Fall 2011 Lookbook

This is definitely the coolest lookbook I've seen. All gifs! I'm a little late, but it's Verrier Fall 2011.

My New Year's Resolution was to fix my nails.

From left to right (top pic): esteemia Cuticle Away, Sally Hansen Complete Care, Pretty Nails Moisturizing Polish Remover, Sally Hanson Maximum Growth Cuticle and Nail Treatment, nail stick, three-sided nail file.

When I get a notion to do something as simple as taking obsessive care of my nails, I tend to go hard. In an attempt to grow my nails out, I ran to CVS to stock up on nail care supplies on my way to work. Naturally I used my break to begin mending my tattered, peeling nails.

So far, I'm really happy with the results and it's only been two weeks. I never used to push back my cuticles or filed instead of just gnawing off the offending bit of nail, but I definitely couldn't imagine going back.

Here is my routine!

• First, I painted my cuticles with Cuticle Away and let it sit for about a minute. Then I used the stick to push back my cuticles while making sure to kind of separate it from the nail. Wash hands.
• Next, I rub the Sally Hansen Maximum Growth on my cuticles for another minute or so. Wash hands!
• So then I file and shape my nails (I like oval-shaped) with the emory side of my file. Then I use the 'Smooth' side on the edges of my nails as well as the top. It's gentle enough to file the top of the nail and take off some of the leftover cuticle.. or whatever that is. I then use the 'Shine' side on the tops. The shine is totally optional.
• I use the Sally Hansen Complete Care growth polish as instructed. One coat. Dry. Two coats. Dry. One more coat. Dry. It's dries pretty quickly, actually.

From then on, I just try not to bite my cuticles and use plenty of lotion of my hands. I do this routine about once a week :).